Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of Games of Body and Soul

Bestial Politics

The mongooses quickly traversed through the grass followed by Mana and the rabbit party. Once in a while, one of the mongooses showed its head in the grass just so the party following them did not get lost. At least the first impressions were made and, just somehow, the rabbits managed to stay alive. That was all that someone with the mentality of a rabbit could truly ask for.

In a way, Mana was a perfect ally to the rabbits. Where one side did everything in their power and considered their core motivation to stay alive and unharmed, the other declared it her life's mission to keep everyone she can that way too.

"Yer negotiation tactics were... Interestin'." Usukari quickened her pace to catch up to Mana so that the rabbit could talk to her shortly and in silence.

Mana did not reply. Usukari was considered one of the greatest warriors that the Ninja Rabbits could offer, alongside Usuzoku. Yet Usukari was held as a hero whereas Usuzoku was just tolerated, likely because of their tremendous difference in character. Mana had great interest and respect in what the rabbit hero had to say but the magician really wondered if she was not the one who should have done the talking before.

"You suspected that the mongooses would not listen to a word you said so you intentionally sparked a conflict and quickly defused it by playing it out in your mind again and again. Your execution was too perfect in timing for it to be any other way. In that way, you bought some time. You made them listen by making them respect your strength." Usukari explained the way she came to understand Mana's plan.

"Our strength." Mana corrected the rabbit. "I did not intend to trigger a fight, not really. My first plan was to get mongooses on our side by just mentioning the Ninja Snakes but it appeared to not have worked."

"Well, we are not out of the woods just yet. Our strongest fighters are still not in fighting condition and we are being led to the den of the enemy where power will not be the swaying factor because we simply will lack the amount of power for it to be that way. I look forward to seeing what you have in store there..." Usukari smiled while patting the magician on the back.

It was not as easy as the rabbit assumed it to be. Mana did not plan this meeting to go this way, this was merely a precaution she intended to take in case things went wrong. She completely misunderstood the personalities of the Ninja Mongooses. It just so happened that the countless war stories Usuzoku told her depicted the enemy all wrong. As an amateur historian, Mana should have seen that coming.

At a certain point, the grasslands just stopped. After a good couple of hours of slightly faster than a civilian traveling pace stroll, the mongooses took the rabbits to a two-meter tall structure that did not appear too different from a large pile of dirt. The magician raised an eyebrow, momentarily a hint of respectful fear starting simmering in her heart as she wondered if they were just being played.

No. It did not make too much sense. If the mongooses wanted the rabbits dead and had the means to achieve that, they would have undoubtedly gone for it all the way back there. Given the current circumstances, they have decided that fighting Mana and whoever else offered a fight was either too much for their numbers or too much of a hassle compared to just hearing them out.

"There. The Burrow Ziggurat of the Ninja Mongooses." The fiery furred animal pointed at the towered dirt. While on one hand, the place looked like a literal dump, looking at with a more analyzing glare it made sense. The Ninja Mongooses may not have wanted to be found out by anyone they did not approve and allow entry into their sacred grounds.

"So you live underground as well?" Mana wondered, just trying to establish a dialogue between her and the mongooses that would maybe keep the two talking long enough to form some sort of mutual understanding of each other's circumstances.